Self-Induced Abortions Are On the Rise

Abortion is always a hot-button issue and new research shows Google searches for DIY abortions is on the rise.

According to the Guttmacher Institute, women have around 1 million legal abortions a year and in 2015, there were 700, 000 Google searches for self-induced abortions, which included things such as “how to have a miscarriage” and a search for abortion pills. Women were even looking for instructions on how to perform coat hanger abortions.

Economist Seth Stephens-Davidowitz toldThe New York Times the demand for DIY abortions is “concentrated in areas where it is most difficult to get an abortion, and it has closely tracked the recent state-level crackdowns on abortion.”

It should be noted Mississippi is the state with the highest rate of Google searches for self-induced abortions, but the state now has one abortion clinic.

The eight of the 10 states with the highest search rates for self-induced abortions are considered by the Guttmacher Institute to be hostile or very hostile towards abortion. Neither of the 10 states with the lowest search rates for self-induced abortions are in either category.

Search rates for self-induced abortions began to rise in 2008 due to the financial crisis and the recession which took place afterwards.